VETERAN comic Stanley Baxter was given a lifetime achievement award at a ceremony celebrating the best of radio drama.

The 88-year-old star, who started his career as a child actor, was honoured at the event in central London.

The Glasgow-born star got his big break as a teenager on Children’s Hour and was a regular on TV in the 1960s and 1970s, but has since returned to drama on Radio 4.

Other winners at the BBC Audio Drama Awards, held at Broadcasting House, included Stephen Mangan and Sir Ian McKellen.

Sir Ian, named best actor for his performance in Eugenie Grandet, said radio drama transported him to his “pre-television youth”.

He said: “I sat with my family, lucky to stay up late in my pyjamas and dressing gown meeting Chekhov for the first time, and Ibsen and Shakespeare, and lesser writers, and discovering the magic of words and sounds through the air, and so it’s with eyes closed that you can discover new worlds and escape.”

Among the stars handing out the awards were Broadchurch actress Olivia Colman and Ruth Jones.

Helen Boaden, the director of BBC Radio, said: “These awards celebrate the very best of British audio drama and showcase some of the finest actors, writers and producers in the world.”